Month: September 2013

WPCS International Inc. (NASDAQ: WPCS) said it has entered into a definitive stock purchase agreement for the sale of The Pride Group (QLD) Pty Ltd., to Turquino Equity LLC, for a purchase price of USD1.4m.

Turquino´s managing member is Andrew Hidalgo, former chairman and CEO of WPCS.

At closing, the company will settle the purchase price with Turquino by applying the net after tax severance balance due Hidalgo under his separation agreement, as partial payment towards the purchase price of the Australia Operations, and the company will receive cash from Turquino for the difference between the purchase price and the net severance balance due. The closing is anticipated for November 1.

WPCS is a design-build engineering company that focuses on the implementation requirements of communications infrastructure. The company provides its engineering capabilities including wireless communication, specialty construction and electrical power to the public services, healthcare, energy and corporate enterprise markets worldwide. For more information, visit www.wpcs.com.

As one of the initial Wi-Fi equipment suppliers to be involved in developing the Wi-Fi Alliance Hotspot 2.0 Specification, which is the underlying technology for the Passpoint certification, Ruckus continues to demonstrate its ongoing commitment to advancing next-generation Wi-Fi technology.

Perth-based electricity and gas company SSE, which operates mainly in the UK and Ireland, stated today that its retail arm is expected to report a loss on its adjusted profit before tax in the first half of the company’s financial year.

According to the company, the expected loss is a result of increases in wholesale gas prices, higher costs and lower energy consumption. SSE saw an operating profit at its retail arm of GBP75.7m in the first half of 2012 and a GBP101.4m loss in the same period of 2011.

However, despite the predictions SSE said it is on target to raise dividend payments to its shareholders, which will exceed retail price inflation for the 2013-14 financial year. It also expects its wholesale and networks divisions to be profitable in the six months to the end of September 2013. These results will be published on Wednesday 13 November 2013.

Finance Director of SSE, Gregor Alexander, commented; “Despite challenging energy market conditions, SSE has made solid progress in recent months, including taking a number of specific steps to help small business customers and improve standards for household customers. We continue to benefit from maintaining a balanced range of energy businesses, illustrated by again meeting the criteria for a single A credit rating. Despite the intensifying political debate, we will maintain our operational and financial discipline, to enable us to deliver an above-inflation increase in the dividend for this financial year and beyond.”

SSE is said to be the second largest energy supplier in the UK and has 9.5 million customer accounts. It also has a 50% stake in the 504MW Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm.

Digital Angel Corp. (OTC: DIGA) said it has filed its Definitive 14C with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to satisfy the conditions of the share exchange agreement with VeriTeQ Acquisition Corp.

The reverse stock split and name change were conditions to the share exchange agreement between VeriTeQ and Digital Angel, which was completed in July 2013. Digital Angel acquired all the outstanding shares of VeriTeQ from the VeriTeQ shareholders in exchange for 410,759 shares of Digital Angel´s Series C preferred stock. The share exchange resulted in a union of the two companies to focus on medical device identification and radiation dose measurement technologies for use in radiation therapy treatment.

The company has over 100 patents, patents pending, and exclusive licenses, and multiple regulatory approvals from the US Food and Drug Administration and CE marks, which enable the company to market its products in the European Union.

Digital Angel, through its VeriTeQ subsidiary, develops innovative, proprietary RFID technologies for implantable medical device identification, and dosimeter technologies for use in radiation therapy treatment. For more information on VeriTeQ, visit www.veriteqcorp.com.

Allied World Assurance Company Holdings, AG (NYSE: AWH) and Cover-All (NYSE: COVR) said that Allied World US has selected Cover-All Policy, Cover-All Commercial Auto, Cover-All General Liability, Cover-All Dev Studio and Cover-All Test Studio to help expand the company´s standard and specialty commercial lines operations, including rating, quoting, underwriting, and policy lifecycle management.

Allied World US will utilize Cover-All services for implementation of these solutions.

Allied World Assurance Company Holdings, AG is a global provider of innovative property, casualty and specialty insurance and reinsurance solutions. Allied World offers superior client service through a global network of offices and branches. Visit the following for further information on Allied World: Web: www.awac.com| Facebook: www.facebook.com/alliedworld| LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/Allied-World.

With offices in Morristown, NJ, Manhattan and Honolulu, Cover-All provides insurance professionals a robust state-of-the-art, browser-based family of policy, business intelligence, and claims solutions designed to deliver products to market faster, enhance quality, ensure compliance, and reduce costs. Additional information is available online at www.cover-all.com.

Based in New York, Ms Hastings reports to MSCI´s chairman and CEO, Henry Fernandez, and is a managing director and a member of the firm´s executive committee.

“With three decades of marketing experience in the investment management industry, Darla brings a wealth of relevant and valuable business insight with her and we are delighted to welcome her to MSCI,” said Henry Fernandez. “In this new role, Darla will lead a major and rapid transformation of MSCI into a much more customer-centric and marketing-focused organization, working closely with the firm´s senior management and existing marketing and communications teams.”

Prior to joining MSCI, Hastings was chief marketing officer for Norton Rose Fulbright, a leading global legal practice. In 1995, she founded INCommunication, a strategic marketing consultancy with a roster of clients that included leading companies from a wide range of industries.

MSCI is a provider of investment decision support tools to investors globally, including asset managers, banks, hedge funds and pension funds. MSCI products and services include indices, portfolio risk and performance analytics, and governance tools.

On September 25 a group of media guests were treated to five-star dining and comfort onboard a Qatar Airways Boeing (NYSE: BA) 777-300ER on the Washington Dulles International Airport tarmac the Middle Eastern carrier said.

Qatar Airways said it invited food, travel, and local journalists to a unique Airplane Dinner showcasing the airline´s Culinary World Menu. The event is the first of its kind ever staged in the history of the airline, it said.

Guests ordered from an a-la-carte menu–designed by Chefs Nobu Matsuhisa, Tom Aikens, Vineet Bhatia, and Ramzi Choueiri–all while parked at the gate.

Qatar Airways said the the aircraft was literally a converted restaurant, where diners enjoyed delicacies such as mushroom rice fritters by Bhatia, fillet of beef anticucho by Nobu and braburn apple puree with vanilla creme by Aikens. The chefs, who have earned a combined five Michelin stars, worked together to make sure the menu represented the diversity of Qatar Airways´ clients, blending dishes from all over the globe.

Guests were also introduced to James Cluer, the Qatar Airways master of wine, who showcased the airline´s unique champagne and wine selections and discussed how taste palates change at high altitude and the challenge of choosing the best vintages for the rarefied air of 35,000 feet.

The evening was part of a series of events celebrating the airline´s “World´s Best Business Class” award (Skytrax 2013). In July, the airline set up a lounge at the AT&T (NYSE: T) Best of Washington gala that featured the Boeing 777 Business Class seat display.

Cabin crew showcased key features of the seat, including full-size pillows, personal 17-inch touch-screen TVs, and in-seat massage settings. Qatar Airways also presented a similar exhibit at a charity event in Chicago earlier this month.

Ambient Corp. (NASDAQ: AMBT) said it has engaged a financial advisor to assist the company with identifying and evaluating strategic alternatives to maximize value for the company´s stakeholders, including, but not limited to, a sale of the company.

John J. Joyce, president and CEO of Ambient Corp., said, “Our differentiated hardware and software solutions are valuable assets that have significant long-term potential. Our board of directors is undertaking this review to identify the best way to maximize the value of our assets for our stakeholders given our current financial position and market dynamics in the smart grid sector, and has authorized the engagement of a specialist investment banking firm with significant expertise in the smart grid market.”

Ambient designs, develops and sells the Ambient Smart Grid communications and applications platform. More information on Ambient is available at www.ambientcorp.com.

NQ Mobile (NYSE: NQ) said that its security centre has captured and eradicated two new malware strain variants, protecting consumers from possible privacy violations and fraudulent bill charges.

The infections a.privacy.SmsManager.a (Privacy Leaker) and a.payment.Sexyapp.a (SMS Fraudster) were discovered in the China market and were quarantined prior to inflicting widespread damage.

Dubbed “Privacy Leaker” for its ability to surreptitiously upload users´ personal information to the network, a.privacy.SmsManager.a is a newly discovered virus variant that would download onto consumers´ devices in the background and be triggered via SMS. Once active, the virus could listen to and intercept incoming SMS as well as collect and upload sensitive phone information to the web server.

“SMS Fraudster,” a.payment.Sexyapp.a, is a new virus variant discovered on the Google Play Store in China. After tempting users to install the malicious app, the malware would send premium-rate SMS messages, leading to unexpected charges on users´ bills.

NQ Mobile is a leading global provider of mobile Internet services. Its portfolio includes mobile security and mobile games as well as advertising for the consumer market and consulting, mobile platforms and mobility services for the enterprise market. NQ Mobile maintains dual headquarters in Dallas, Texas, USA and Beijing, China. For more information on NQ Mobile, visit http://www.nq.com/.

VimpelCom Ltd. (NASDAQ: VIP) reported its shareholders approved amended and restated bylaws with technical amendments to the company´s former bylaws.

The bylaw amendments were made in connection with the company´s listing on NASDAQ on September 10, 2013.

Holders of approximately 94% of the company´s shares were represented at the SGM.

VimpelCom is one of the world´s largest integrated telecommunications services operators providing voice and data services through a range of traditional and broadband mobile and fixed technologies. For more information visit: http://www.vimpelcom.com.